Constant clear visibility thanks to high-tech coatings

Obviously, we glasses wearers know that eyeglass lens coatings are important. Nowadays, it is almost taken for granted that a new pair of glasses will have antireflective eyeglass lenses and a hard coating. However, like the equipment in a new car, there are also differences in quality and specifications that the glasses wearer can select individually in consultation with his or her optician.

Eyeglass lens coatings offer protection, comfort and a better appearance at the same time. Optimum surface coatings turn eyeglass lenses into individual masterpieces that are perfectly suited to their owners and their owners' requirements. We will show you what you should look out for.

The hard coating

For most glasses wearers, eyeglasses are like a second skin. Eyeglass lenses and glasses frames have to withstand a great deal of abuse on a daily basis. People who wear glasses for sporting activities or for working with power tools, or children even, are particularly reliant on having glasses that are robust and tough enough to meet the challenges of even strenuous physical activity. And we all know: not everyone can take perfect care of their glasses all the time. In the hectic pace of everyday life, sometimes glasses end up lens-down on the table. For this reason, your glasses should in particular offer long-lasting protection against scratching of the eyeglass lenses.

Even small scratches on eyeglass lenses can have an extremely detrimental effect on vision. They make our vision somewhat blurry, although the eyeglass lenses have the correct prescription. This leads to strain and, if nothing else, imposes considerable fatigue on our eyes. What is more, the lifetime of the eyeglass lenses is reduced. Plastic glasses in particular are distinguished by their lightness and wearing comfort, although the softer material of these glasses compared to mineral eyeglass lenses makes them more sensitive if unprotected. And you can be sure that the thinner the plastic lens – for example in what are referred to as high refractive index plastic lenses – the more important the hardening coating is.

Therefore, when buying glasses, it is highly important to think about the quality and lifetime of the hard varnish coating. The more active you are, the more important is the protection of your eyeglass lenses.

Spectacle lens without/with hard coating

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Antireflective coating

Seeing well and looking good is what antireflective coating for eyeglass lenses is all about. This is because eyeglass lenses without an antireflective coating produce light reflections or mirroring effects that are distracting both for the wearer and the person he or she is talking to: firstly through the eyeglass lens into the eye of the glasses wearer and secondly on the eyeglass lens for the observer. Both are equally distracting. Eyeglass lenses without an antireflective coating particularly impair vision when driving at night, on a rainy, wet carriageway and when facing the headlights of oncoming vehicles. The driver feels more quickly dazzled and, under certain circumstances, poorly lit objects such as cyclists might not be noticed early enough.

Therefore, we recommend investing in a good antireflective coating, even if your eyesight is only in need of slight correction. The effectiveness of the antireflective coating is graduated according to the degrees of reflection: basically, there are "simple", "medium" and "super" levels of antireflective coating. What is referred to as the "residual reflection" determines the quality of the antireflective coating. An optician can easily recognize the quality of the antireflective coating used, even on older eyeglass lenses, because the antireflective coating has a characteristic color.

Particularly glasses wearers who spend a lot of time in face-to-face conversations and/or drive a lot should select the best possible antireflective coating.

Spectacle lens without/with antireflective coating

Clean Coat coating

Imagine you are wearing a wonderfully soft woolen pullover. Yet unfortunately, the fine wool fluff keeps sticking to your eyeglass lenses. In your job, you often have to spend time in dusty, enclosed rooms. After that, your eyeglass lenses look like they have been in a desert storm. It starts to rain and you have no umbrella at hand. With the raindrops clinging to your eyeglass lenses, you can see next to nothing. All these are examples of situations which display the true performance of eyeglass lens coatings.

Clean Coat and antistatic coatings such as those integrated in the high-end LotuTec coating from ZEISS make eyeglass lenses antistatic and hydrophobic. A finish is available for eyeglass lenses that is similar to what you might have seen in everyday life with auto paints or other smooth surfaces that have the lotus effect. The surface is smoothed to such an extent by the coating that dirt particles or droplets of water cannot stick so strongly to the lens, and are shed like from a lotus leaf. Therefore, eyeglass lenses with LotuTec are easier to clean and do not even need to be cleaned so frequently. It is even possible to remove greasy fingerprints from the eyeglass lens effortlessly.

Spectacle lens without/with hydrophobic coating

LotuTec from ZEISS is for everyone who would like to have all top coatings in one

No need to be spoiled for choice. ZEISS makes it incredible easy for you with the LotuTec 3-in-1 product, because this high-tech coating offers all-round protection: hard coating, antireflective coating, CleanCoat and the antistatic function all in one.

And the best thing is that the hydrophobic effect means LotuTec is less likely to suffer from fogging, so your vision will be impaired much less when you move quickly from cold air into the warm.

Our tip: get your optician to demonstrate and explain precisely what the quality differences are between the individual eyeglass lens coatings. Decide what you need for your everyday life, according to the conditions under which you will use your new glasses and for how long your glasses should withstand the signs of old age. With ZEISS, you can combine the individual coating types freely according to your individual needs.